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Cigarette brands from the 1960s - UK

Cigarette brands from the 1960s, the old and the new: Wills Wild Woodbine and Player's Medium v Embassy Tipped and Player's No 6 Filter
In the 1960s filter cigarettes replaced plain ones. The two best-selling brands at the beginning of the decade were Woodbine and Player's Medium. By the end of the 1960s it was Embassy Filter and Player's No 6

This is a list of cigarette brands on sale in Britain in the 1960s.

This is a huge list, but around a dozen brands took more than 75% of the UK market.

In the 1960s the best selling cigartte brands were:

Some of these are ancient plain brands that go back to the early days of cigarette smoking and some new filter brands that were increasingly popular in the 1960s. The main reason people switched to filters in the UK was cost. Tobacco was taxed by weight and the dog end, which was mostly the filter, contained no tobacco. So filter brands were cheaper. There was also a perceived health benefit, although not a real one. In some cases the tobacco displaced by the filter was a more effective filter.

At the end of the 1960s there was a craze for small and miniature filter brands. Benson & Hedges Sovereign with its gold packaging tried to bring some of the prestige of its big brother Benson & Hedges Special Filter. Player's No 10 was a subminiature cigarette introduced in 1969 which already had a 4% market share in that year.

The cigarette market was very competitive. Some brands were short-lived.

Rare packs: Bension & hedges Special Menthol, Senior Service Conquest and Wills Diplomat
Gone and forgotten: Benson & Hedges Special Menthol, Senior Service Conquest and Wills Diplomat.

These brands all lasted less than five years.

Strand was a well-documented marketing failure. Its tag-line "You're never alone with a Strand" was read by the public as "Strand - the cigarette for loners".

BrandTypeDates
Albany FilterMedium filter1968-73
Anchor TippedSmall filter1958-70
ArialSmall filter1962-7
Bachelor TippedMedium filter1960-75
Benson & Hedges Special FilterKing size filter1960-
Benson & Hedges Special Menthol FilterKing size filter1967-69
Bristol FilterMedium filter1955-74
Buckingham TippedMedium filter1964-75
Cadets FilterSmall filter1966-
Cadets PlainSmall plain1962-67
Cambridge FilterMedium filter1969-77
Camel FilterKing size filter1967-
Camel PlainMedium plain1935-
Cameron FilterKing size filter1969-76
Capstan Full StrengthMedium plain1897-?
Capstan MediumMedium plain1893-
Chesterfield FilterKing size filter1967-78
ChesterfieldMedium plain1935-
Churchman's No. 1Medium plain1901-1976
Churchman's No. 1 TippedMedium filter1963-1972
Churchman's No. 2 PlainSmall plain1963-1972
Cogent StandardMedium plain1943-78
ConquestSmall filter1967-69
Consulate Long SizeKing size filter1959-78
Craven 'A' Cork TipMedium plain1928-
Craven 'A' FilterMedium Filter1957-74
De ReszkeMedium plain1954-69
Diplomat FilterSmall filter1968-9
Disque BleuMedium filter1959-
Du Maurier Cork TippedMedium filter1931-
Dunhill International FilterKing size filter1967-
Dunhill MagnumKing size filter1968-70
Embasssy FilterMedium filter1962-
Embasssy PlainMedium plain1962-
Embasssy Gold FilterSmall filter1969-
EnvoyMedium filter1965-9
Escort FilterMedium filter1964-9
Everest Menthol FilterMedium filter1961-77
Gallaher's De Luxe Medium RedKing size filter1962-71
Gallaher's Medium Blue De Luxe PlainMedium plain1930-
Gallaher's Mild Green De Luxe PlainMedium plain1930-
Gallaher's No. 1 Extra Large VirginiaKing size filter1968-71
Gauloises Caporal FilterMedium filter1959-
Gauloises Caporal PlainMedium plain1931-
Gauloises Disque Bleu FilterMedium filter1959-
Gitanes Caporal PlainMedium plain1931-
Gitanes FilterMedium filter1959-
Gold Bond FilterMedium filter1969-
Gold Crest FilterSmall filter1966-70
Gold FlakeMedium plain1913-
Gold Flake FilterMedium filter1954-78
Gold Leaf FilterMedium filter1966-
Grovsenor KS FilterKing size filter1969-72
Guards FilterMedium filter1958-
High KingsKing size1969-75
Kensitas FilterMedium filter1949-78
Kensitas PlainMedium Plain1928-
Kensitas Extra SizeMedium Plain1947-61
Kent FilterKing size1960-
Lark FilterKing size1964
L & M Box FiltersKing size filter1960-
Lucky Strike PlainMedium plain1935-
Lucky Strike King Size FilterKing size filter1967-
Marlboro Long Size FilterKing size filter1957-
Matinee De Luxe TippedSmall filter1954-68
MayfairSmall filter1959-69
Nelson FilterMedium filter1960-77
OlivierMedium filter1956-73
Olympic TipKing size filter1960-71
Pall Mall FilterKing size filter1967-
Pall Mall King Size PlainKing size plain1961-
Park Drive FilterSmall filter1958-
Passing CloudsMedium plain1874-1973
Park Drive PlainSmall plain1900-
Peter Stuyvesant Filter Luxury LengthKing size filter1969-76
Peter Stuyvesant KS FilterKing size filter1956-
Piccadilly Filter De LuxeMedium filter1962-
Piccadilly Mild FilterMedium filter1966-
Piccadilly No 1 PlainMedium plain1930-
Player's FilterMedium filter1964-
Player's MediumMedium plain1900-
Player's Mild FilterMedium filter1960-70
Player's Mild Navy CutMedium plain1907-76
Player's No 3Medium plain1901-77
Player's No 6 FilterSmall filter1965-
Player's No 6 PlainSmall plain1965-
Player's No 10 FilterSmall filter1968-
Player's PerfectosKing size filter1964-76
Player's Special Mild FilterMedium filter1964-76
Ramsey Special PlainMedium plain1953-70
Rembrandt Filter De LuxeMedium filter1959-75
Rembrandt International FilterKing size filter1968
Reyno Menthol FilterKing size filter1962-
Richmond FilterMedium filter1963-76
Richmond PlainMedium plain1963-76
Rocky Mount FilterMedium filter1960-78
Rocky Mount Mild Filter TippedMedium filter1966-78
Rothmans' Crown FilterMedium filter1966-76
Rothmans' King Size FilterKing size filter1956-
Rothmans' Pall MallKing size filter1960-76
Senior Service Extra FilterSmall filter1968-73
Senior Service FilterMedium filter1963-77
Senior Service PlainMedium plain1934-
Shipmate MediumMedium plain1928-78
Silk Cut FilterMedium filter1964-
Solent Menthol Filter TippedMedium filter1960-1977
Sovereign FilterSmall filter1969-
Special Virginia FilterMedium filter1954-78
Special Virginia De LuxeMedium filter1967-78
Sterling FilterMedium filter1964-
St Moritz FilterKing size filter1967-
Straight CutMedium plain1944-64
StrandMedium filter1960-64
Three Castles FilterMedium filter1968-
Three Castles PlainMedium plain1878-1973
TravellerKing size filter1964-5
Weekend Virginia FilterMedium filter1964-72
Weights FilterSmall filter1964-76
Weights PlainSmall plain1891-
WestburyKing size filter1965-7
Windsor VirginiaMedium plain1960-71
Woodbine ExportSmall plain1959-67
Woodbine FilterSmall filter1949-
Woodbine PlainSmall plain1888-

Note: Where there is no end date it indicates that the brand was still being sold in 1980.

Source: Document downloaded from Truth Tobacco Industry Documents called 'List of main cigarette brands 1965-79'.

By Steven Braggs, July 2021

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Mid Century ★ Facts & Figures ★ Collectibles

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